Nursing Practice and the Prevention of Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections

There are numerous healthcare associated infections (HAIs) that individuals can acquire while receiving care in an acute healthcare facility. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are HAIs that may cause increased lengths of stay, hospital costs, and mortality for patients. CAUTIs may be preventable through evidence-based nursing interventions and care. Using CINAHL, PubMed, and ProQuest, an evidence-based practice inquiry was conducted on the prevention of CAUTIs. Ten articles were chosen based on the relevance to the clinical question and quality of research. The articles were English language, peer-reviewed, and published within the last ten years. The levels of evidence ranged from I to III, with predominantly level III evidence within the ten articles. Current evidenced-based practice in the prevention of CAUTIs includes: (a) nursing education on the insertion, care, and maintenance of catheters; (b) utilization of checklists, protocols or tools; and (c) staff engagement, informatics, testing indications, and equipment. To assist with translating evidence into clinical practice, an integrative literature review and the use of the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice (JHNEBP) model were utilized to establish nursing recommendations for the prevention of CAUTIs. The JHNEBP model uses three phases with 18 detailed steps for reviewing and utilizing the evidence to implement changes into clinical practice. Nursing education and the use of tools were interventions found successful most frequently in the literature review. Positive outcomes included increased nursing knowledge and decreased incidence of CAUTIs. The nursing education and use of tools that were found effective iii in the prevention of CAUTIs will assist with ensuring patient safety through the care of critically-thinking professional nurses. Recommendations include 40 minute in person nursing education on the insertion, care, and maintenance of indwelling urinary catheters and the use of a shift checklist for indwelling urinary catheters to decrease CAUTI rates for inpatients within an acute healthcare facility. This education and checklist will also assist nurses with providing professional and skilled care to inpatients with an indwelling urinary catheter